I’ve never owned an aquarium, though I’ve often thought about getting one.
While growing up, I remember my younger brother’s aquarium, which was about two feet long. The tank contained various apparatus, including a plastic filter and a little tube that bubbled all the time. These accessories weren’t very attractive, so he kept them toward the back with some plastic plants in front.
Whenever I think about getting an aquarium, I go to the pet store and examine the largest tanks they have. I imagine these big tanks occupying a good portion of my living room, with some amazing fish swimming around and having the time of their lives.
I remember my brother getting new fish. It was a joyous time
when he brought them home in a little plastic bag, waited for the
temperature to equalize and then watched them for hours to see what
they would do. As far as I could tell, they didn’t do anything, and
I don’t think he was able to teach them any tricks.
When I look at aquariums in the pet store, I begin thinking about keeping these tanks clean, about what might happen in an earthquake and how long these fish will stay alive. Then I realize an aquarium would be just one more thing to worry about in my life.
When thinking about buying an aquarium, I’m acting as if I didn’t know that a growing number of people are concerned about the ecological effects that the aquarium industry has had on natural populations of tropical fish throughout the world. This is something that people should think about, and some fish may be better than others in this respect. So far, I have decided not to buy an aquarium, but I keep thinking about it.
Here, I’ve collected photos of some unusual fish tanks and accessories, beginning with a tank that doubles as a toilet. In my mind, nobody would really buy a toilet for fish unless they had already owned every other kind of tank and was bored with the adventure. On the other hand, if you wanted to have fish in the bathroom and had room for a second toilet, you could sit on one and watch the other.
There’s also a bathroom sink aquarium. I’m just not sure how the fish feel about being stuck in the bathroom all the time with people constantly washing their hands on the edge of their world.
The coffee table aquarium would be valuable for people who have no other room in their house for an aquarium. Would you put your feet up on this aquarium and let it get all cluttered with magazines and newspapers and such? What would the fish think about that?
These first three items are from
This Next.
As for decorations inside the tank, the following ideas from
Aquariums Direct beat the little plastic bubblers and filters
by far. Finally, at the end, there’s a related cartoon from YouTube
that you may enjoy.
It would be great to hear from folks who, unlike me, have actually owned aquariums.
